Tag Archives: veronica rossi
Into the Still Blue
Under the Never Sky, Book 3
Juvenile Fiction
HarperCollins
2014-01-28
400
The race for survival comes to a thrilling close in the earth-shattering conclusion to Veronica Rossi's New York Times bestselling Under the Never Sky trilogy. Their love and their leadership have been tested. Now it's time for Perry and Aria to unite the Dwellers and the Outsiders in one last desperate attempt to find the fabled Still Blue and bring balance to their world. Perfect for fans of the Hunger Games and Divergent series, Veronica Rossi's trilogy has been called "inspired, offbeat, and mesmerizing" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) and "incredibly original" (Seventeen.com). Brimming with romance and danger and building to a climax that will leave you breathless, Into the Still Blue brings this "masterpiece" trilogy to an unforgettable close (Examiner.com).
Review:
With the “Under the Never Sky” series being one of my favorite guilty pleasures, I could not wait to get my hands on “Into the Still Blue”. Aria, Perry, Roar, Cinder and Company were in a bad situation the last time I saw them, and I was glad to know the action picked up immediately from where the previous book ended.
Before I go any further, I need to say that I did enjoy the book. It was a fast and fun read, and I do not regret reading it. The characters are fun, the plot still makes no sense but for some reason I did not care, and I am a total Perry and Aria shipper.
With that out-of-the-way, I was still irritated to no end by the sheer predictability of the book. It feels as though not one single curveball was thrown, and I could have spared myself the few hours it took me to read it by just knowing everything would happen exactly as I thought it would, with one exception, and that is that the author left a major plotline unresolved. In fact, it goes completely unmentioned. It is as if it never happened, and that is a pet peeve of mine.
I enjoyed it, but it felt way too phoned in to count as a satisfying conclusion to an otherwise fun story.
Content Warning:
Language, Violence, Sexual Situations
Through the Ever Night
Under the Never Sky, Book 2
Juvenile Fiction
HarperCollins
2013-12-23
368
In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Rossi combines fantasy and dystopian elements to create a captivating love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.
Review:
Aria and Perry continue their quest to escape the tumultuous atmosphere, save the lives of others, and make me question whether or not Perry is supposed to be Fabio in the sequel to “Under the Never Sky”. Spoiler alert: Perry has much more access to shirts in this one.
All joking aside, it’s a testament to the author’s skill and style that I neither enjoy this sort of mixed genre nor find myself drawn to the world of rustic, long-haired tribal leaders, and yet I still found myself devouring this book like it was a Big Mac and I hadn’t eaten for a week. Actually, this book was even more satisfying than the Big Mac would be. I would have foregone food for another day or two if it meant more of Perry and Aria.
The story is still absolutely ridiculous to me, but the character development is excellent. All of the actions in the first book make sense as we learn more about each one’s past and become to care about them on a deeper level. None of them are one-dimensional, even though it would have been quite easy to make them so, and the dialogue is very snappy and witty. It breathes life into the characters.
My favorite aspect of the book, and I hope I do not live to regret these words when I read “Into the Still Blue”, is that there is an actual, meaningful relationship between characters of the opposite sex that is tender and does not involve any sort of weird posturing and triangle nonsense. I could faintly hear a chorus of angels singing in the distance as I read about Aria and Roar. Perfect.
I found this book to be highly enjoyable. It’s an easy read that isn’t sloppily written and flows in a way only a good author can write. “Under the Never Sky” has become my guiltiest pleasure outside of “Divergent”.
Content Warning:
Strong Language, Violence, Some Sexual Situations
Under the Never Sky
Under the Never Sky, Book 1
Juvenile Fiction
Harpercollins Childrens Books
2012-12-04
400
When Aria is exiled from the enclosed city of Reverie, she forms an unlikely alliance with an Outsider named Perry, who could be her only chance of survival providing they can overcome their prejudices.
Review:
Before I begin the review, I have an embarrassing confession about a misconception I formed at the beginning of the book. Between the cover and the multiple mentions of Perry being shirtless and in leather pants, it became set in my mind that I was somehow reading a Harlequin Romance fantasy. Obviously, this was wrong, but nevertheless I breathed a sigh of relief once he finally put on a shirt and things got going in earnest.
The reason for the three instead of four stars in my rating is the fact that it took me a full third of the book to really get into it. Being a fan of how the worlds are built in dystopian novels, I found this one lacking. There was very little to go on at the beginning, and while this may be intentional, it made me apathetic to what happened to them one way or the other.
That being said, once the two main characters were together, things picked up quickly. The world and characters become more than one-dimensional and I began to care what happened to them and everyone else. Perry and Aria are both very interesting and complex, and the ultimate love story evolved beautifully. It was nice to see a book lacking a love triangle and keeping the complications to what they were going through, as opposed to which boy Aria should kiss.
In the end, I was so drawn into their world that I immediately ordered the next in the series and expect I will not have the difficulty getting into it that I had with this one. If you find yourself wanting to give up at the beginning, I encourage you stick with it. It’s worth it.
Content Warning:
Language, Violence, Sexual Situations
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